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2h ago

Times of London Retracts Fake de Blasio Quotes as Same-Name Mix-Up Emerges in NYC Mayoral Race

A Long Island wine importer named Bill DeBlasio says he answered a reporter’s email under his own name, prompting new scrutiny of the paper’s verification.

FILE - Then-New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio takes a phone call during the 14th Annual CUNY/Daily News Citizenship NOW! event, April 28, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, file)
More than 13,000 people pack Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, New York, for mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani's “New York Is Not For Sale” rally on October 26, 2025.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, right, speaks alongside New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo at a press conference in New York, in 2020.
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Overview

  • The Times of London deleted the article and apologized, saying its reporter was misled by an individual falsely claiming to be the former New York mayor.
  • Bill de Blasio called the piece “entirely false and fabricated,” said he never spoke to the reporter, and reaffirmed his support for Zohran Mamdani.
  • The respondent was identified by Semafor as Bill DeBlasio, a Long Island wine importer, who says he never claimed to be the mayor and used ChatGPT to draft his emailed views.
  • The story was live for roughly 90 minutes and was quickly amplified by the New York Post and by aides to Andrew Cuomo before being corrected.
  • Multiple accounts indicate the exchange occurred over email using an address believed to belong to the ex-mayor, with no additional identity verification by the reporter.